St. John the Baptist Parish
officials are calling for a special referendum Nov. 16 to borrow $30 million for capital projects. If voters approve, the debt, in the form of general obligation bonds, would be repaid over a 25-year period with revenue from existing property taxes and would not
require a tax increase, Parish President Natalie Robottom said.

The Parish Council approved the referendum Tuesday. The bulk of the bond issue, $13 million, would be dedicated to drainage. "Our main focus right now is
drainage," Robottom said. "We have some major drainage issues that need to be
addressed."

However, the specific
projects are still being discussed, she said. "We're going to make some
recommendations based on what the council has told us are problem areas in
their district, and based on data that we've collected," Robottom said.

Coupled with mitigation
grants from FEMA after Hurricane Isaac and other storms, the bond proceeds could help add bar screen cleaners to block debris from drainage pumps and pay for pumps to alleviate
flooding in the Homewood and Belle Pointe subdivisions subdivisions, Robottom said. "It's an opportunity to make
a huge impact across the parish," she said.

Some money also could be set
aside for the parish's estimated $62 million local match for a federally sponsored east bank hurricane protection levee, projected to cost $881 million. About $5 million was set aside for that
project as part of a $29.5 million bond issue approved by voters in 2009.

The parish also is looking to
use part of the new bond money to build another government complex in front of the Percy Hebert Building in LaPlace. The new building, at least two
stories, would consolidate all of the parish's services under one roof, Robottom said.

Here is a breakdown of the project areas
and money from proposed bond issue:

$6 million - Building and improving public buildings, including expansion of the governmental complex in LaPlace

$13 million - Building and improving drains, drainage canals, pumps and pumping plants, dikes and levees